After Republic Donald Trump’s shock victory in the U.S. presidential election yesterday, the Los Angeles 2024 bid committee have congratulated him and on look forward to working closely with the President-elect.

“LA 2024 congratulates President-elect Donald J. Trump and appreciates his longstanding support of the Olympic movement in the United States,” read an official statement.

“We strongly believe the Olympics and LA 2024 transcend politics and can help unify our diverse communities and our world.”

“Let me congratulate President-elect Trump on his victory and wish him all the best for his term in office for all the people of the United States and of the world,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.

Los Angeles’ biggest rival, Paris, is also still in the running to host the 2024 Games but elect a new president in May. Many have predicted that far-right candidate Marine Le Pen could come out successful in the elections.

“LA 2024 has achieved 88% public support in the latest poll and strong bipartisan government support at the local, state and federal level. We look forward to working closely with President-elect Trump and his Administration across the federal government to deliver a ‘New Games for a new Era’ that will benefit and inspire the entire Olympic movement in 2024,” concluded the statement.

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iSportconnect, the world’s largest global private network of sports business executives, has today announced a partnership with digital fan engagement pioneer, Monterosa, who is set to become the ‘Official Fan Interaction Partner’ of iSportconnect.

Monterosa creates cutting edge digital fan interaction products that build a stronger relationship with fans on a global scale. Monterosa experiences are simple, effective and massively scalable. Its award-winning cloud platform, LViS, makes it easy to deploy ready-made and custom digital experiences on every screen in multiple languages. Monterosa has delivered solutions for some of the world’s biggest brands, TV shows and sporting events with clients ranging from adidas,Carlsberg, World Rugby, ITV, and , France Télévisions..

In partnering with Monterosa,iSportconnect will be able to offer its members innovative interaction opportunities for those attending events in person and for those engaging remotely.

Monterosa, Director of Sport, Ben Barker said: “We are excited to be partnering with iSportconnect as we continue to develop understanding around fan interaction within the sports industry. The impressive iSportconnect network, both online and at events,offers us a great opportunity to showcase our capabilities to sports business executives and highlight the amazing ways that we can add value to their businesses.”

iSportconnect CEO and Founder Sree Varma, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Monterosa, who are proven innovators within the fan interaction field. We look forward to working with them to help build a strong relationship within sports business.”

For Monterosa interview and images requests please contact Sarah Hames: sarah@thehivenetwork.co.uk

Notes to Eds:

About iSportconnect:

iSportconnect is the largest global private network of SportBusiness Executives where membership is exclusive and follows a strict door policy. It is a one-stop platform for any quintessential Sport Business Industry executive.

About Monterosa:

Monterosa provides cutting-edge fan interaction technology solutions to global rightsholders, teams, events, brands and broadcasters

In a world of increasing choice, Monterosa makes every moment of fan interaction count by delivering live interactive experiences that capture fans’ attention and develop direct fan relationships.

By motivating large audiences with real-time, exclusive digital experiences, Monterosa products channel fans to sign-up, share, watch more video and interact with brand partners. With secure data capture and analysis, the more time spent talking to fans, the more learnt about them.

Monterosa products; apps, bots, social or web, are innovative, effective, robust and scalable. Their  range of technologies engage fans across multiple devices, screens and in different locations from the living room to the venue. Apps, web, social media and messaging channels have the great advantage of personalisation. An app can send push notifications tailored to a team, a Messaging Bot can speak as a friend, a fantasy game enables competition with friends.

Their award-winning cloud platform, LViS, makes it easy to deploy ready-made and custom digital experiences at scale on every screen and device. LViS is the most advanced platform globally, scaling to millions of users and providing interactivity to the world’s biggest sporting and broadcasting events. Global businesses including adidas, HSBC World Rugby Sevens, Carlsberg, UEFA, NFL, TF1, Channel 4 and ITV rely on LViS.

In 2015, LViS was deployed by France Télévisions with Skoda for the Tour de France and the French Open Tennis Championships with GDF SUEZ; by Norway’s TV2 for the World Women’s Handball Championships; by Chile’s Canal 13 for the Copa America. In addition, Monterosa and Channel 4 won the Best Broadcaster Technology award at the 2015 Sports Technology Awards for LViS-powered Horse Tracker.

With no single technology or medium providing the ultimate solution, in the last 12 months, Monterosa has engaged delivered 20 million interactions in 195 countries and achieved 4 #1 apps.

monterosa.co

The International Surfing Association (ISA) has appointed Lausanne-based Broadreach Media as exclusive distributor of its media rights in the territories of Europe, cheap the Middle East, herbal Africa, herbal  Pacific and Asia (excluding Japan).  Broadreach Media will also offer consultancy services regarding the packaging and production of ISA World Championships.

The ISA World Championships of which Broadreach has been appointed media rights are:

• – ISA World Surfing Games
• – ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship
• – VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship
• – Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship
• – ISA World Bodyboard Championship
• – ISA World Masters Surfing Championship
• – ISA World Longboard Championship

The partnership with Broadreach Media comes at a crucial moment for the ISA after the decision on August 3 by the International Olympic Committee to include surfing as one of five new sports on the Sports Program of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Robert Fasulo, ISA Executive Director, said:

“The ISA is constantly working to expand our visibility and promote surfing on a global scale, especially now that we have entered a new era for the sport with Olympic inclusion. We are looking forward to working closely with Broadreach Media, as this relationship will further strengthen our strategy to increase our global reach and spread the joy of surfing around the world.”

Steven Morris, Director of Broadreach Media, said:

“Surfing is a unique combination of youth lifestyle and high performance sport and the ISA World Championship Series has huge potential for growth as commercial media products. We’re delighted to start working with the ISA.”

The remaining events on the ISA’s 2016 calendar are the following:

• – 2016 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, September 17-25, Azores, Portugal
• – 2016 Fiji ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship, November 12-20, Fiji
• – 2016 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship, December 8-11, La Jolla, California, USA

The LA Galaxy have partnered with VR company Laduma in a new multi-year content and marketing agreement making Laduma an official partner of the five-time MLS Cup Champions.

Together, arthritis Laduma and the LA Galaxy will create a six-part series of fully immersive 360-degree 3D VR experiences featuring six LA Galaxy players: Nigel de Jong, Ashley Cole, Gyasi Zardes, Jelle Van Damme, Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane.

The partnership, developed by AEG Global Partnerships, is designed to introduce fans to a new, multisensory way of following and experiencing the club.

Through the series, fans will be invited into the LA Galaxy locker room on match day, spend time with Gerrard at his home and see where Keane likes to hang out in Los Angeles.

The VR series will debut at two LA Galaxy home games in the 2016 MLS season with Laduma and the LA Galaxy inviting fans to watch the VR content in select areas of StubHub Center.

Fans will be able to put on a headset and have first-hand access to never-before-seen content, including specially produced videos and teasers featuring exclusive footage of players as well as other behind-the-scenes stadium and team experiences.

Laduma Chief Executive Officer Ben Smith said: “At Laduma, we pride ourselves on working with the most iconic brands in the world. The LA Galaxy are not only synonymous with style and success within MLS, but they are also widely respected for being one of sport’s most forward-thinking, digitally savvy organizations.And so our partnership is about creating incredible content for one of the most digitally engaged audiences in professional sports.”

 

Swiss Finance group Longbow Finance S.A. have taken over Sauber Holding AG, prescription the company behind the Sauber F1 team.

Peter Sauber will retire from all functions, being succeeded by Pascal Picci as Chairman of Sauber Holding A.G.

Monisha Kaltenborn will remain as a member of the Board of Directors and continue to lead the company in her functions as CEO and Team Principal.

Pascal Picci, President & CEO, Longbow Finance S.A: “As a Swiss company, we are very pleased with having secured the future of a Swiss presence in a highly specialized and innovative industry.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, CEO and Team Principal: “We are very pleased that by reaching an agreement with Longbow Finance S.A., we can secure the future of Sauber at the pinnacle of motorsport. We are convinced that Longbow Finance S.A. is the perfect partner to again make the team competitive and successful in Formula 1. At the same time the new structure will allow us to finally further expand our third party business in which we commercialise our know-how.

“This solution is in the best interest of our employees, partners, loyal suppliers, the base in Hinwil and for the Swiss motorsport. We are very grateful that Longbow Finance S.A.believes in the competences, efficiency and capabilities of Sauber Group, and we look forward to a new exciting future.”

Peter Sauber, President of the Board of Directors, Sauber Holding AG: “Monisha Kaltenborn and I yesterday signed an agreement which secures the future of the Formula 1 Team and the Sauber Group. I am very happy that my courageous investment to buy the team back, which I made six years ago, with the intention to secure the base in Hinwil and the place in Formula 1 has proved to be correct.”

In the past week we’ve seen news about Ligue de Football Professionnel in France (the rights holder for Ligue 1) looking at the opportunities for a “French eSport Championship” in partnership with EA SPORTS, the Badminton World Federation stating they are investigating “e-gaming” and rumblings that the rights holder for Spain’s La Liga, Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, are working on their own eSports league.

While on one hand, this is all exciting for eSports as validation points it does raise a number of questions about the approach of each of these organisations.

The first question from a marketing perspective would be – who is the target audience for these initiatives? Are these organisations simply attempting to circle the waggons and offer something new to their existing audience (see my previous column about the Ansoff Matrix) or are they actually attempting to use this as a method to branch out and attract a new audience?

If the latter then I’d send a word of caution to them. eSports is growing at a great pace but that is largely drive by a handful of top gaming titles. Attempting to create a new property for a game that doesn’t already register on the eSports spectrum means an uphill struggle for anyone expecting an immediate and dramatic influx of new eyeballs or customers.

Let us take the FIFA video game as an example largely because it is likely to be one of the games of choice for both Ligue 1 and La Liga. When it comes to eSports minutes watched on Twitch, the world’s largest video game streaming network, FIFA doesn’t even register and when looking at the total hours watched on Twitch for all games FIFA only registers at No.18 with 3.5M hours in June 2016. Some would argue that could be a lot of unique eyeballs a rights holder could attract irrespective of where the game currently ranks in terms of viewership but I’d counter that by doing a comparison. Would I want a slice of those 3.5M hours for FIFA because it sits really closely to my existing product or would I want to try and grab a slice of the 81.5M hours of viewership that League of Legends attracts?

These numbers are the reason the likes of Schalke and Valencia are throwing their hats into the wider eSports ring and not solely focusing on FIFA as a video game – because they want to grow their brand and cross-pollinate. A portion of their existing football audience may already be League of Legends fans in which case the team’s involvement is a way to consolidate this fanaticism whilst dropping their brand into the eSports ring in the biggest game at the moment means they are also creating a mechanism for converting existing League of Legends fans.

So what about rights holders, organising bodies and federations? They need to think long and hard about the objective – double down on their existing audience or attempt to attract new fans and the biggest question – are fans there for your property or the teams?

Philip’s

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced the appointment of Mr Rahul Johri as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Rahul who was last serving as Discovery Networks Asia Pacific’s Executive Vice-President and General Manager for South Asia, adiposity will take on his new role starting June 1, 2016 onwards.

Commenting on the appointment, BCCI President, Mr Shashank Manohar, said: “We are pleased to have Rahul with us and are sure his vast experience and knowledge will benefit the board.”

“His vision, guidance and support will contribute towards the successful working of the BCCI.”

BCCI Secretary, Mr Anurag Thakur added, “We welcome Rahul aboard and wish him luck for his new role at BCCI. In the past one year, BCCI has undertaken various initiatives aimed towards transforming the working of BCCI in order to make the functioning more robust.”

“This endeavor is another initiative of the board aimed in the same direction and will mark as one more milestone towards strengthening the professional working of the BCCI.”

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The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have confirmed the launch of the Basketball Champions League in a 50-50 joint partnership with the European basketball leagues.

Ten European domestic leagues and the Union of European Basketball Leagues (ULEB) officially signed up to be part of the Basketball Champions League that will officially be launched on 21 March in Paris.

Full story HERE.